What do you like/dislike about your country?

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Australia, more specifically Sydney, where I live. A lot of it is my own opinion I guess a lot of it can apply to other places in Australia

PROS
Conservative government
The weather
Decent public healthcare
Lots of local sport to watch
The weather
Lots of things to do
High education standards
Lots of roads (good for motorcyclists)
Not too polluted even in the big cities
Lots of pretty women
Did I mention the weather?

CONS
Cost of living is high relative to income
Engineers are underpaid
Industrial manufacturing industry is almost non existant
Lots of roads (high cost to maintain and many roads in poor condition)
Mental health gets nowhere near as much media and government attention as physical health

i live in the US, but life in the US really depends on the region of the US you're in. i grew up in the suburbs of Illinois but now live in the heart of Minneapolis. so i'll compare those two.

SUBURBS OF ILLINOIS:

PROS
Clean, quiet, safe
Mile away from town, mile away from school
Good place to raise children

CONS
Majority of populace are rich Republican WASP's
All local businesses have closed thanks to bad economy so the big corporations are sweeping in
You feel isolated from the rest of the world and while things aren't exactly bad they aren't exactly good either

and now MINNNEAPOLIS:

PROS
The buses will take you pretty much anywhere you need to go
There's always somewhere to go and something to do any hour of the day, any day of the year
Any show at 1st & 7th is $20 and there's booze and arcade games if the band sucks
Relatively cheap to live there (my rent's $500 a month)
You can get Wi-Fi almost anywhere

CONS
The summers are beyond oppressive and the winters are worse
Lots of crime and homeless
Almost no one speaks English
Anyone who works in any of the independent coffee shops acts like a douche bag
Scientology center placed prominently in local downtown

I live in California. I can't stand George Bush. through his colossal greed and self-serving government, he is responsible for plunging the world in the worst geopolitical and economic mess ever seen in recent times...

I was appalled when he got reelected, I was seriously thinking of moving to Vancouver, Canada. But I'd really miss the California weather.

too many liberals and neocons

Pro:
- First five amendments to the Constitution are essential to truly modern civilization.
- Land is really, really big, with lots of water, arable land, and nice weather.
- Tradition that freedom is valued above security.
- Accessibility to immigrants of differing cultures birthed our cultural nihilism.
- National Parks that are second to none.
- Free refills and dollar burgers!!

Con:
- Articles of Constitution grant way, way too much power to our federal government.
- Land was stolen, then worked by slaves and exploited laborers, then poisoned by corporations.
- Wealth has led many so-called Americans to value security over freedom.
- Immigration laws are backwards, letting too few people in and destroying our labor pool.
- Xanterra "manages" the amenities at our National Parks with gross negligence and an eye to profit.
- High fructose corn syrup and textured vegetable protein.

> chown $.02 mine yours

My country is the U.K

Pros-

-Free health care, although this is being slowly eroded
-Some really beautiful natural areas (which got improved public access a few years ago)
-Wide variety of people from all over the world living here, both temporarily and immigrant communities
-Lots of good food (mostly due to immigrant communities!)
-Its small enough to get around easily but not so small that everywhere feels the same
-Lots of coastline, cos the sea is nice

Cons-

-Tendency to have an island mentality, not caring about the rest of Europe/ the world or thinking the UK is better without even going to see other places
-Related to this is how so few people learn another language, just expecting other people to speak English (sometimes even when they live in another country, like Spain!)
-Also related to this is the level of xenophobia and racism
-The amount of people who like to get really really drunk and have random fights
-The level of inequality in society, one of the (if not the) worst in Europe.
-The concentration of wealth and power in the South East of England (basically London and the surrounding areas) compared to the rest of the country

"I love my country, but I'm scared to death of its government".
Blackie Lawless, W.A.S.P.

More on California:

PROS:
Incredible natural beauty: the coasts, the oak hills, the mountains, the redwood forests, etc.
One of the best bays in the world and some of the best farmland in the world.
Mostly liberal politically.
The Governator.
Democratic state constitution - makes it relatively easy for citizens to influence the government.
Frequent small earthquakes for stimulating conversation.
Diverse: Influence from its Mexican history and also other Pacific Rim nations. Cross-over cuisine featuring the best food of the Pacific hemisphere, as well as excellent 'pure' cuisine from a variety of backgrounds.
Sushi.
Sake.
Napa and Sonoma valley wines.
Artichoke hearts.
Avocados.
Surfing and Surf Culture. Sharks.
Some excellent research institutions.
High potential for wind, wave, and solar energy.


CONS:
The Governator.
Democratic state constitution - makes it relatively easy for citizens to influence the government.
LA/Beverly Hills
Occasional large earthquakes wreaking destruction.
Occasional fighting between groups - Latinos vs. African Americans, WASPs against Mexicans, etc.
Schools that were formerly among the best in the nation are now among the worst.
Horrible state budget deficit.
Dependency on out-of-state rivers for some of our water and out-of-state power plants for some of our electricity.

Overall, the pros greatly outweigh the cons to leave California the best state in the union.

Netherlands:

Pros:

* relatively good healthcare system accessible for all
* good social security system
* improving care for national landscape, creating a national ecological infrastructure
* lots of fresh air (near the sea)
* wide open spaces (very few hills)
* weather is varied, mild and relatively unpredictable
* people are relatively helpful and not so corrupted
* people are mostly very direct and honest
* population is relatively open to other cultures
* population is hard working with high standard of living
* free speech
* political democracy (mainly liberal)
* good public transport
* very good cycling infra structure inside and outside towns and cities
* people oppose crude punishments and orthodox religious dogma

Cons:

* warm season is still too short
* population is turning increasingly hedonistic
* too many cars and too many holidays by airoplane
* too many motorways/highways in a very a small country
* farmers are still pampered and get away with exploiting massive numbers of caged factory animals (agro-industry)
* country imports large quantities of soy, destroying huge areas of natural forests in South America
* country exports arms to third world nations with dictators and war lords
* people lack in spontaneous warm hospitality
* hasn't a good cuisine of its own
* no real economic democracy
* ever increasing salaries and bonusses for managers and directors and increases of low paid jobs moving into the globalizing economy
* too much influence in the centre of politics by an ever dwindling christian minority
* the day to day culture has a crude and banal edge to it (as in many western cultures)

Oh please....don't let me start ....

Indonesia

Pro:
- Schools teach about religious tolerance from first grade to twelfth grade. It's usually the first chapter in the "citizenship" class that is taught every year.
- Low cost of living. You can survive with $200 per month.

Con:
- We must register our religion. We must have a religion. Atheism/Agnosticism is frowned upon
- Corrupt government from top to bottom. If you want to find a good politician in Indonesia, be a politician yourself and be good. Even then if you want to win elections you need to some favors from other strongmen and if you get elected you HAVE to return the favor or they will betray you.